< The Latest 2025-10-16T15:57:19+0000
The Pasadena Star-News | Wed 10/15 05:12pm PST | Sierra van der Brug
A federal grand jury has indicted Jonathan Rinderknecht, who is suspected of starting a fire that led to the destructive Palisades wildfire that killed 12. Two additional felony charges were also added to his case, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Rinderknecht, 29, was initially charged with destruction of property by means of fire, but now also faces two additional felony charges, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and one count of timber set afire.
If convicted, he faces five to 45 years in federal prison. The Melbourne, Fla., resident has been in federal custody since his Oct. 7 arrest. He is suspected of starting the Lachman fire on Jan. 1, which authorities believe was a “holdover fire” that burned underground for days and became the Palisades fire on Jan. 7 as intense winds battered Los Angeles. Authorities previously described Rinderknecht as having a “despondent view of the world.”
He is expected to be arraigned in the next few weeks in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, according to prosecutors.
Steven Haney, a private attorney who has signed on to represent Rinderknecht, said in a statement Thursday morning, Oct. 16, he has received the indictment and looks forward to “vigorously defending Mr. Rinderknecht against these charges.
“There were blatant failures by governmental agencies that were intervening causes between the Lachman and the Palisades fires,” he said. “To scapegoat Jonathan Rinderknecht and attempt to hold him criminally liable for the failure of others is preposterous.”
Authorities allege that Rinderknecht, working as an Uber driver on Dec. 31, 2024, dropped off a passenger in the Pacific Palisades and headed to Skull Rock Trailhead, where he tried to contact a past friend, walked up the trail, and listened to a song with a music video that shows fire, and took videos.
Shortly after midnight, Rinderknecht called 911 but could not get through until he was at the bottom of the hiking trail, by which time a resident had already reported the fire, prosecutors said.
He initially drove away from the fire, passing fire trucks heading toward the scene, before deciding to turn around and speeding after the fire trucks back to the scene of the fire. He walked back up the trail and took more videos around 1 a.m., according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Days later, on Jan. 7, the Lachman fire became the Palisades fire after burning and smoldering underground for several days, authorities said. The Palisades fire ultimately burned over 23,000 acres, damaging or destroying more than 7,000 homes and other structures.
When he was interviewed by law enforcement in late January, he said he was at the bottom of the trail and had spotted the fire, but geolocation data revealed he was about 30 feet away from the blaze, authorities said. Rinderknecht had lived in the Palisades at one point, prosecutors said.
Staff writer Nathaniel Percy contributed to this report.